The appropriate Government must pass a separate order remitting the unexpired portion of the sentence for the automatic release of convicts serving imprisonment for life.

S. Rajendra Babu, J. - This writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution seeks for he release of the petitioner who is undergoing imprisonment for life after having been convicted under Section 302 Indian Penal Code read with Section 34 Indian Penal Code The claim of the petitioner is that he has undergone the following period of actual sentence and earned remissions :-

Year Months Days

(a) From 25.6.1982 to 1.5.2000 including under trial period confinement 17 10 6

(b) Remissions earned or Govt. Remissions granted upto 31.12.1999 5 8 29

(c) Total sentence including remissions 23 7 5

2. The petitioner also claims that under Section 61(1) of the West Bengal Correctional Services Act, XXXII of 1992, which on Presidential assent being given came to force with effect from April 14, 2000, he is entitled to be released inasmuch as he had served the sentence and earned remissions as detailed above and was entitled to be released as on September 27, 1996. The details are set forth hereunder :-

Year Months Days

(i) Length of life imprisonment under the definition of punishment vide explanation is : 20 0 0

(ii) Deduct the period of remission earned or granted under Section 58 or Section 59 5 8 29

14 3 1

(iii) Deduct the period of set off under Section 428, Criminal Procedure Code 1973 0 2 8

(iv) Total amount of actual sentence the petitioner herein was liable to undergo 14 0 24

Days Months Years

(v) Sentence of the petitioner started from the date of his sentence on 3.9.1982 3 9 1982

(vi) Add the amount actual sentence to be undergone from item (iii) above 24 0 14

(vii) Date of release on which the Superintendent of jail was liable to release the petitioner under rule 771 now under section 61(1) read with Rule 571 in chapter XIII West Bengal Jail Code 27 that is, 27th September, 1996 9 1996

3. After examining the legal position as to the nature of the powers arising under Section 432 Criminal Procedure Code read with Article 161 of the Constitution and the relevant rules relating to remission of sentences, it is observed in the State of Madhya Pradesh v. Ratan Singh, 1976(3) SCC 470, as under :-

"(1) That a sentence of imprisonment for life does not automatically expire at the end of 20 years including the remissions, because the Administrative Rules framed under the various Jail Manuals or under the Prison Act cannot supersede the statutory provisions of the Indian Penal Code. A sentence of imprisonment for life means a sentence for the entire life of the prisoner unless the appropriate Government chooses to exercise its discretion to remit either the whole or a part of the sentence under Section 401 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1908;

(2) That the appropriate Government has the undoubted discretion to remit or refuse to remit the sentence and where it refuses to remit the sentence no writ can be issued directing the State Government to release the prisoner."

4. In Naib Singh v. State of Punjab, 1983(2) SCC 454, it was noticed that a distinction between imprisonment for life and imprisonment for a term has been maintained in the Indian Panel Code in several of its provisions and moreover, whenever an offender is punishable with imprisonment for life he is not punishable with imprisonment which may be of either description within the meaning of Section 60 Indian Penal Code and therefore, we cannot come to the conclusion that the court, by itself, could release the convict automatically before the full life terms is served. This aspect was highlighted in Gopal Vinayak Godse v. State of Maharashtra and others, 1961(3) SCR 440, wherein it was held that sentence for imprisonment for life ordinarily means imprisonment for the whole of the remaining period of the convicted persons natural life; that a convict undergoing such sentence may earn remissions of his part of sentence under the Prison Rules but such remissions in the absence of an order of an appropriate Government remitting the entire balance of his sentence under th